Job Expansion Fund: Business Plan Application Form
EnterpriseIreland will not release any information received as part of this application except as may be required by law, including the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003. In the event of a Freedom of Information request, the client will be given reasonable advance notice in order to contest such disclosure
Any personal information which you provide to EnterpriseIreland will be obtained and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003. The information in Application Forms will be used by EnterpriseIreland in the processing of your application and for ongoing administrative purposes between you and EnterpriseIreland.
  • This Application Form document is to be completed using the associated ‘Reference Document’, available on the corporate website, as an aid.
  • To ensure consistency, this document uses protected form fields which are limited in length and which only allow use of plain text (i.e. no bolding, underlining, bulleting, etc).

1.Applicant Company Details

1.1.Company Details

Registered Company Name* / ....
Company Registration Number / ....
Company Business Address / ....
Company Web Address / ....
Company Telephone Number / ....
Company Fax Number / ....
Principal Business of the Applicant (include product/service key words for online search) / ....
Company Contact Name / ....
Contact’s Job Title / ....
Contact’s Email Address / ....
EI Development Adviser / ....
Company’s Primary Bank / ....
Project Summary / .... (Max one sentence)

Note*Partnerships are ineligible to apply

1.2 Eligibility Criteria

See Reference Document for further details. / Yes / No
Please answer all of the following:
Is the company a Small Enterprise (SE)
Is the company a Medium Enterprise (ME)
Has the company been generating reasonable levels of revenue for at least 2 years
Will the company demonstrate a minimum increase in turnover of €350,000 over the next two years
Does the company employ 10 or more employees
Will the company create a minimum of 3 new jobs (Irish based) as part of this proposal
Confirm that the company will not displace existing jobs to create new jobs
Confirm that the company will maintain the existing jobs plus the new jobs for a minimum period of 3 years?

2.Company Profile

2.1.Company Overview

  • Please give a brief outline of the company history.
  • Please briefly summarise your current product/service and key markets (more detail is requested later).

Type here ... (Max 2000 characters)

2.2.Company Ownership

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Name / Type* / Share Class / % Shareholding / Amount Invested
Total
* For Type use: Promoter, Family/Friends, Domestic VC, Overseas VC, Trade Investor, Business Angel, BES/ EII Fund, BES / EII Individuals, or other.

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  • If any group structure exists, please describe here and attach group diagram separately.
  • Identify any connected companies and related parties and outline their relationships.

Type here ...(Max 1000 characters)

2.3.Future impacts to share ownership

  • Please give brief overview of any projected changes to Company Ownership.
  • Outline the nature of any other planned share issues / redemptions.
  • Outline BES / EII redemption dates and recipients (if related party).

Type here ...(Max 1000 characters)

3.Business Strategy

3.1.Product/Service and Market

Product/Market

  • What is the product/service that you supply now and what is its Unique Selling Point (USP)?
  • What is your specific target market? Please quantify?
  • What problem/need does your product/service address? What is the evidence to support this?
  • What research have you carried out to validate the need for your product/service?

Type here ...(Max 2000 characters)

Competition

  • Who are your main competitors?
  • Why is your product/service better than that of your competitors i.e. price, functionality, service etc.?
  • What is to stop your competitors, in the future, copying or otherwise matching your offer?

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

Priority Markets

  • Insert the top 3 countries that you consider are your priority export markets each year and indicate what % of your total exports are to these markets. EnterpriseIreland’s focus is to develop export opportunities for its client base.
  • This information helps us to align our overseas office supports to your priority markets. Your priority country might not have the largest export sales, but it is the one that you consider as a priority.
  • Base Year is the last complete financial year unless 10 months have passed in the current year, in which case Base Year is the current year.

Priority / Country Name
(Base Year) / % Total Exports (Base Year) / Country Name
(Base Year+1) / % Total Exports (Base Year+1) / Country Name
(Base Year+2) / % Total Exports (Base Year+2)
1. / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
2. / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
3. / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Other / .... / .... / ....
TOTAL / 100% / 100% / 100%

3.2.Business Model

  • What channels do you use to bring your product/service to your customers and markets?
  • How do you access the people within your client companies that influence the sales decision?
  • What is the pricing model used to achieve your sales revenue?
  • How and when do you get paid once you have made a sale?
  • Who sells and markets your product/service, with what budgets?
  • What are the main gaps/issues facing you in sales and marketing? What actions are you going to undertake to address these gaps?

Type here ...(Max 2000 characters)

3.3.Operations

Product/Service Delivery

  • What are the main processes and systems in providing your product/service to your customers, now and/or in the future?
  • What are your current and/or future requirements for staff, equipment and buildings?
  • Who/where are your top 5 key suppliers (by annual expenditure)?
  • How do/will you ensure the quality, regulatory and environmental legislation needs?
  • What are the main gaps/issues facing you in operations? What actions are you going to undertake to address these gaps?

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

Innovation / Research & Development

  • What Innovation / R&D do you undertake and how do you organise it?
  • What is your track record in implementing previous State funded R&D projects (if any)?

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

Skill Capability

  • How do you/or will you manage the operations of your business?
  • What processes and systems do you have to develop staff skills?
  • Please provide a brief outline of previous training programmes and related expenditure.
  • Are there unmet staff skill needs? What gaps would any proposed training address?

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

3.4.Management

  • Outline the current management structure (Please append an organisation chart).
  • What are the key skills and track record of the management team and advisers?
  • Is the current organisation structure,culture and management capability appropriate to the stage and scale of the business?
  • Do you need to create new management role(s) within the senior team to enable growth? If so, what gap(s) will this address and which new role(s) are proposed?
  • Is succession planning an issue for your company?

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

3.5.Key Strategic Issues

  • Identify and quantify the key strategic issues facing the company.
  • What are the main gaps/issues facing you in operations / market / management capability / financial performance / etc?

Type here ...(Max 1000 characters)

4. Proposed Development Project

  • What are the initiatives undertaken to-date and what are the proposed initiatives to address the key issues affecting the company.
  • Outline the specific actions and projects for which you are now seeking support?
  • How will the proposed proposal contribute to the achievement of your overall business strategy, as described above?

Type here ...(Max 3000 characters)

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5.Finance

5.1.Trading Position

Base Year-2 / Base Year-1 / Base Year / Current Year / Base Year+2 / Base Year+3
Note: Base Year is the last complete financial year unless 10 months have passed in the current year, in which case Base Year is the current year.
Fin. Year End
(dd/mm/yy) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Sales
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Exports
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Gross Profit
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
R&D Expenditure
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Net Profit After Tax (€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Net Assets / S’holder Funds
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Cash at Bank
(€000’s) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Total Employment
(# FTE’s)** / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Employment
Irish based (#FTEs) / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
Employment R&D Irish based / .... / .... / .... / .... / .... / ....
  • Please outline how the company has performed against previous targets (last 3 years).
  • Comment on any issues (eg. a major decline in sales).

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)
*Please note a project cost sheet should be completed where applying for employment grant support
** FTE – Total employment is arrived at by combining Full Time / Full Time Contract employees (working more than 37.5 hrs) with Part Time / Temporary employees converted to Full Time Equivalents, FTEs (ie total hours worked divided by the standard hours in a week)

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5.2.Sources of Funding

  • Please detail sources of existingfinance e.g. bank loans, shareholder/director loans, venture capital, leases, overdraft, invoice discounting, etc.
  • Outline where the funding will come from to implement the development plan e.g. bank loan, additional equity from promoters/existing shareholders or from other sources and the likelihood of securing the funding.
  • Detail any revisions negotiated/proposed to existing facilities from banks, VCs, etc.
  • If an EIIS investment has been made in the last 3 years, funding support may have to be reduced due to cumulation rules on state aid. See Section 7.

Provider / Facility
Type / Original
Facility
Amount / Current
Balance
Amount / Interest
Rate / Remaining Term / Renewal Date / Security

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5.3 Amount and Details of Grant Support sought from EI

(See accompanying Project Cost sheet) All Eligible capital costs should be quoted excluding VAT with the excel workbook accompanying this application form.

6.Incentive for supporting this project

  • Outline the reasons EI should support your application – specifically addressing how this support will provide an incentive to one of the following – increase in size of project; increase in scope of project; increase in spend on project; increase in speed of completion of project
  • If successful, what would be the likely business impact to the company?
  • What would be the impact of not receiving financial support from EnterpriseIreland.
  • Include information on any additional economic benefits to Ireland (local suppliers, etc).

Type here ...(Max 1500 characters)

7.Declaration by Authorised Officer of the Applicant

Please note: A fully completed Declaration is required for your application to be deemed valid. Please ensure that you complete the Declaration in full.

DECLARATION BY APPLICANT
An Authorised Officer of the Company or the Promoter should complete this Declaration.
I confirm that the Company:
Is a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME).
Has not and will not seek aid from any other State Agency in respect of the expenditure applied for in this application.
Jobs Plus Support received / Yes / No
I confirm that the Company/Promoter has NOT received or will NOT seek (if successful) JobsPlus support in respect of the employment expansion under consideration.
If NO and the number of employees received support for is under 5, please list the employees here:
If NO and the number of employees received support for is over 5, please consult with your Development Advisor
De Minimis Aid Received[1] / Yes / No
Has the company received De Minimis Aid in the last three years?
If YES, how much De Minimis Aid has been granted to the company in the last three years (please list type, amount and date received).
Type / Amount / Date
.... / .... / ....
BES/EII/ SCS Investment Received[2]
Has the company received BES/EII/SCS in the last three years?
If YES,how much BES/EII/SCS investment has been received in the last 3 years (please list type, amount and date received)
Type / Amount / Date
.... / .... / ....
Is the company legally required to produce Annual Audited Accounts?
Has submitted a current Annual Business Review (ABR).
Is the company part of a group structure?
Declaration on EU directive
The Company represents and warrants that it is not directly or indirectly, by way of funding or shareholding, covered by Articles 1 and 2 of the European Council decision, (2014/145/CFSP) of 17 March 2014, and subsequent Regulations (960/2014, 1290/2014 and 833/2014) concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. See for further information.
Company’s Authorised Officer: (Please note: this must be an employee of the company who is authorised to make this declaration on behalf of the company.
Name: / ....
Position within the company: / ....
Date: / ....

Checklist of Information Needed by EI

Document / Note
Application Form / Formal Enterprise Ireland Application Form (this document).
Project Details Cost Sheet / Detailed cost and schedule of recruitment planned
Payroll Listing / Listing of employees on the payroll at time of application
Audited Accounts / If you have not availed of the audit exemption please include the latest signed Audited accounts including notes.
If you have availed of the audit exemption please include the latest accounts filed with the Company Registration Office (CRO).
Please provide consolidated accounts for the Group if part of a group. Softcopy versions are preferred.
Latest Management Accounts (P&L and Balance Sheet) / Include the latest Management Accounts not more than three months old at the time of application.
This will facilitate the assessment of current year projections.
Organisation Chart / A diagram showing the structure of the company and the relationships between the parts (including names of top management).
Group Structure
(if applicable) / Please provide a diagram outlining the companies in the group – showing the shareholding of each and the relationship.
Indicate which company owns any IP and provide supporting evidence.
Supplementary Information / Any other supplementary information that the company thinks supports the funding application (e.g. contracts, pictures, diagrams, etc…)

Please provide all information in soft copy, where available

The application form must NOT be a pdf document.

Submission of Applications / When the application has been completed, it, along with the additional information listed, should be emailed to:

on or before6.00pm on the call close date.
If you don’t have soft copies of the company’s audited and management accounts, please send hard copies of the accounts to your Development Advisor:
EnterpriseIreland,
The Plaza,
East PointBusinessPark,
Dublin 3.
Please note, for successful applicants, only employee’s recruited and eligible expenditure incurred, after the call close date will be considered for funding by the approval committee.

Definitions:

A Small Enterprise is defined as:

  • an enterprise that has fewer 50 employees and
  • has either an annual turnover and/or an annual Balance Sheet total not exceeding €10m

A Medium Sized Enterprise is defined as:

  • an enterprise that has between 50 employees and 249 employees and
  • has either an annual turnover not exceeding €50m or an annual Balance Sheet total not exceeding €43m

In either case, if the enterprise is more than 25% owned by one or more enterprises or itself has a holding of more than 25% in any other enterprise, it will be necessary to consult the full definition in the Official Journal (see below).

Excluded from the holding company threshold in the above definition are public investment corporations, venture capital companies and institutional investors provided that they do not exercise control. However, an enterprise cannot be considered as meeting either definition if 25% or more of the capital or voting rights are directly or indirectly controlled, jointly or individually, by one or more public bodies.

Note - If a company is part of a group the employee, turnover, annual balance sheet and ownership limitsapply to the group.

For the full definition, see the “Official Journal of the European Commission (L 124/36) 20th May 2003 – Commission Recommendation of 6th May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises”.

De Minimis Aid:

The aid being sought is provided under the European Commission Regulation on De Minimis Aid. Small amounts of State aid, up to 200,000 Euros in any three-year period to any one enterprise, are regarded as too small to significantly affect trade or competition in the common market. Such amounts are regarded as falling outside the category of State aid that is banned by the EC Treaty and can be awarded without notification to or clearance by the European Commission. A Member State is required to have a mechanism to track such aid (called 'De Minimis aid') and to ensure that the combined amount of De Minimis aid payments from all sources to one enterprise in any three-year period respects the 200,000 Euro ceiling. Please provide details of all other De Minimis aid which has been granted to your company within the past three years. It should noted that a false declaration by a company resulting in the threshold of 200,000 Euro being exceeded could later give rise to the aid being recovered with interest.

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[1]Please refer to previous grant agreements to identify if any previous aid was classified as De Minimis. See for more information.

2A company that raises capital under the EII/BES (and/or under the SCS]) may be subject to a reduction in other State aids. Enterprise Ireland, on application to it for financial support by a company that has raised capital under the BES/EII/SCS, may be required under State Aid cumulation rules to reduce its support levels accordingly in certain cases. Further information is available from the Revenue website: